Jim Biden, brother of President Joe Biden, cooperated with Qatari government officials to collect donations and funds for health care projects in the United States, according to testimony presented by Michael Levitt -a former business partner of Jim- before the Kentucky Bankruptcy Court, and a report published by the news site Political .
Testimony presented by Levitt, director of the investment fund Third Friday Fund , indicates that two companies that led the fundraising efforts - Platinum Group and Obermeyer Engineering Consulting - were partially owned by members of the Government of Qatar .
Platinum Group partnered directly with Jim Biden to raise money for several years, while Obermeyer Engineering Consulting provided financial backing for a series of loans that the Americore hospital chain paid to Jim Biden, according to documents and testimony presented by Levitt during the federal bankruptcy proceedings. If the veracity of the statements is confirmed, these would be the closest financial ties known to date between a relative of President Joe Biden and a foreign government.
Jim Biden's fundraising activities began after his brother left the vice presidency. According to the records and emails revealed, everything seems to indicate that Jim He asked Joe Biden for help to circumvent restrictions on international money movements .
In June 2017, Qatar's neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic relations with the Qataris over their alleged support for terrorism . The decision made by the countries in the region resulted in Qatar suffering a sustained crisis , which is why the authorities began to grant gifts and financial benefits to well-connected Westerners, sometimes in the form of investment financing.
At the time, Jim Biden was getting into the health care business, working closely with the Americore hospital chain , so In order to raise money for her she contacted Amer Rustom , CEO of the American group Platinum Group , and with Michael Levitt.
Jim Biden, Rustom and Levitt sought funding from investors in the Middle East for Americore and other companies, eventually receiving assistance from Qatari officials who showed interest in investing.
In one of the company presentations that were revealed, it was stated that Americore was seeking to obtain financing for 30 million dollars for the purchase of hospitals. Jim was described there as "brother and chairman of former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign financer."
In May 2018, fundraising stopped due to the holy month of Ramadan, the movement of funds began to slow down, and tensions between the parties involved increased.. At the same time, Levitt emailed Jim saying that he had hit a block while trying to transfer money. Jim then claimed that fundraising had stalled due to a "lack of viable projects to support it."
Levitt, Jim Biden and Ali Sharif Al Emadi, then Qatar's Finance Minister, were going to hold a meeting and discuss the matter, but it is likely that the meeting never took place because the Qatari official resigned from his position in 2021 after he was arrested on charges of corruption and sentenced to 20 years in prison for laundering more than $5 billion.
Shortly after Levitt and Jim Biden went their separate ways in July 2021, they returned to working together and deepened their financial ties. However, they broke up again in 2022 when Levitt was sued for embezzlement of the fund he managed. Likewise, Rustom denounced that Levitt forged his signature on several loan documents and was finally accused by the court of giving false testimony. Jim Biden was not named as a defendant in the case.
